The Demonization of Ariel Sharon

On Feb 14, 2001, HonestReporting released an article entitled
The Demonization of Ariel Sharon
which contains distortion, exaggeration and selective omission of facts.

Sabra and Shatilla

During the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, Israel's Defense Minister, Ariel Sharon, arranged for the
Lebanese Christian Phalang militia to enter the two refugee camps Sabra and Shatilla. After entering the
camps, the Phalangists, whose leader had been assassinated just two days earlier, perpetrated a massacre on the mainly Palestinian population that lasted two and a
half days.

In a section of their article accurately titled "Distortion of Facts", HonestReporting severely
distorts the
Kahan commission's findings
by stating "In truth, Sharon was blamed by the Kahan commission for not having the foresight
to realize that one group of Arabs would so brazenly massacre another group of Arabs."

Nonsense. The Kahan commission's report didn't blame Sharon for of any lack of foresight, but because he knew
about the probability of a massacre and simply ignored it. They wrote that "it is impossible to
justify the Minister of Defense's disregard of the danger of a massacre" and also that "concrete
danger of acts of slaughter ... should have been in the consciousness of every knowledgeable person
who was close to this subject, and certainly in the consciousness of the Defense Minister"(1)

The commission went on to state that Sharon "bears personal responsibility" for the massacre.(2) Their
report recommended that he resign, and if he refuses, that the Prime Minister consider firing him.(3)

Later in their communique, HonestReporting makes the utterly ridiculous statement that "Sharon is calling for the release
of all classified documents from the Kahan commission, insisting that he would be vindicated if they were released."

How on earth could one part of the commission's report state that Sharon "bears personal responsibility" for the
massacre, and another part clear his name completely? Sharon knows he can safely make this absurd statement because
Appendix B, the part of the report that hasn't been released, will most likely always remain private for reasons of Israel's national security.(4)

Additionally, HonestReporting describes the death toll in Sabra and Shatilla as "several hundred", despite the fact
that the range of deaths is estimated between 460 (Lebanese government's figure) to 700-800 (Israel's figure) to
2,000 (Palestinian Red Crescent). Describing such a widely estimated range of deaths as only "several hundred" is
not entirely accurate.

Qibya

In October 1953, Ariel Sharon led Israeli troops in an attack on the West Bank town of Qibya in retaliation
for the killing of three Israelis near Tel Aviv two days before. The attack resulted in the near total
destruction of the town and the deaths of 69 civilians. No Israeli soldiers were killed because the town was
virtually undefended.

As shown above, HonestReporting describes between 460 and 2,000 Palestinians killed as "several hundred". In the
section about Qibya, HonestReporting describes between 48 and 113 Israeli deaths as "Hundreds of Israeli civilians".(5)

In an attempt to justify the 69 Arab civilians killed in the attack on Qibya, HonestReporting states that it was
in response to "deadly terrorist raids by "fedayeen" terrorists sponsored by neighboring Jordan and Egypt",
however the first "fedayeen" attack didn't even occur until 1954, after the Qibya massacre had already taken place.
(Morris, Righteous Victims, p. 270)

HonestReporting's main contention about Qibya is that all 69 civilian deaths were unintentional. HonestReporting claims that "No one knew that 69 civilians were hiding inside the homes. Their deaths were not deliberate."

Anyone claiming that the civilian deaths were not deliberate would have to explain why so many civilians died
of gunshot wounds. Jordanian pathologists reported that "most of the dead had been killed by bullets and shrapnel
rather than by falling masonry or explosions." (Morris, p. 278) The
United Nations team
that investigated the massacre stated that "Bullet-riddled bodies near the doorways and multiple bullet hits on
the doors of the demolished houses indicated that the inhabitants had been forced to remain inside until their
homes were blown up over them."

In addition, the claim that the deaths were not intentional simply doesn't even make sense.

The attack in Qibya lasted six hours. During that time, Israeli sappers went from house to house as they blew
each of them up. In all, they demolished about 45 houses along with some other buildings in the town.

For anyone to believe HonestReporting's position that these deaths were not deliberate, that person would have to
believe that no Israeli soldier heard anyone screaming or crying during the entire time they were blowing up houses and
that all 69 people died violent deaths without uttering any sounds. That is simply not possible. In fact, an
October 26, 1953 article about Qibya in Time magazine specifically stated that "The cries of the dying could be
heard amid the explosions."

It's shameful that even after 50 years, there are people still attempting to whitewash the crime that took
place in Qibya.

(1) The fact that the danger of a massacre "should have been in the consciousness of every knowledgeable person"
might explain Sharon's decision to hide from the Prime Minister the plan to send the Phalangists into the camps.
The commission criticized Sharon for this, stating that "it is ostensibly puzzling that the Defense Minister did
not in any way make the Prime Minister privy to the decision on having the Phalangists enter the camps." Sharon
kept the Prime Minister in the dark for so long that the Prime Minister learned of the actual massacre only after
listening to a BBC radio broadcast. The commission wrote that "It is inconceivable that the Prime Minister should
receive his information about this from a foreign radio station."

(2) Nearly all articles on this subject incorrectly state that the commission found Sharon only "indirectly
responsible".

We have found, as has been detailed in this report, that the Minister of Defense bears personal
responsibility. In our opinion, it is fitting that the Minister of Defense draw the appropriate
personal conclusions arising out of the defects revealed with regard to the manner in which he
discharged the duties of his office - and if necessary, that the Prime Minister consider whether
he should exercise his authority under Section 21-A(a) of the Basic Law: the Government, according
to which "the Prime Minister may, after informing the Cabinet of his intention to do so, remove a
minister from office."

(4) The commission wrote, "non-publication of this material is essential in the interest of protecting the nation's security or foreign relations."

(5) The figure of 113 deaths was arrived at by using solely Israeli government figures. From June 1949 until
the time of the Qibya massacre in Oct 1953, Israel claimed that 89 of its citizens had been killed by
infiltrators from Jordan. Of those 89 deaths, the UN was able to verify 24 of them. This information
is in Appendix I of the notes from UN Securtiy Council meeting of November 9, 1953. On the Gaza border through the
end of 1953, Israeli statistics show approximately 24 Israelis killed by infiltrators. (Morris, p. 281)

(6) Many Israeli politicians at the time denounced this policy of massive, disproportionate attacks. Some simply
objected to attacking civilian targets. Others, such as Israeli statesman Abba Eban wrote, "Sending regular armed forces across
an international border, without the intention of triggering a full-scale war, is a step that distinguishes Israel
from all other countries. No other state acts in this way. It was this, rather than the heavy casualties, that
shocked the world." (Shlaim, The Iron Wall, p. 92)